Conversations From The Universe
by Warbirds
Summary: Just something I decided to do because I was bored. I give all credit to Bungie Studios. If this is not allowed, then tell me and I will remove it as soon as I can. Everything is directly quoted from the minibook. Complete.
1. 343 Guilty Spark

**A/N: I'm going to post this here just for people to know what is on the Conversations from the Universe. Basically for anyone who doesn't have the mini-book.**

**I give all credit to Bungie so no flames please. One page per Chapter.**

343 Guilty Spark - Extracted/Transmitted/Volunteered From Log 

**Revolution 56-11.333**: Ho Hum. Eons of inactivity and perfect stability. Then everything happens all at once.

A primitive, hegenomizing swarm calling The Covenant has landed on Installation 4. Apparently seeking something specific. Exploring! Meddling! I've seen it all before. They'll record what they see and they'll leave.

Detail species NA Covenant / collective religous sect / tech level 4 spacefaring / tech familiar

**Revolution 56-11.334**: Oh dear. Containment protocols appear to have been violated.

The interlopers appear to have accidently released the Flood infection forms. this situation is rapidly deteriorating. Most of these interlopers appear to contain ample calcium stores. And they've brought plentiful means for the Flood to escape containment and spread. How impossibly thoughtless. I suppose I'll have to activate the Facility.

**Revolution 56-11.335**: Thank goodness. A Reclaimer is here. And what perfect timing. I am sure he will assist me cleaning up this irritating mess.

**Revolution 56-11.336**: The Reclaimer has proved to be less than helpful. Obstinate, infact. I And of course, there is no precedent for this situation. Ho-Hum. As usual I shall have to rely on my own better judgement. Perhaps the Reclaimer simply requires persuasion.

Detail visitor Reclaimer / AI companion / Obtuse purpose / mission

**Revolution 56-11.337**: Well, my judgement seems to have failed me for once. The Reclaimer has initiated a reaction in the engine system of a very dirty spacecraft. Data suggests it will destroy installation 4 utterly. I believe discretion might be the better part of valor. I have attempted to fulfill my responsibilities to the best of my ability.

**Revolution eta-condition**: Well, everything is in a terrible state. The installation is ruined. I am stuck here in the middle of nowhere with only impulse propulsion. And the only good news is that the Flood breach has been halted. Albeit inelegantly.

Detail Installation 4 destroyed / nuclear reaction / Flood containment acchieved by Reclaimer

**Revolution eta-condition**: Excellent! I belive I see assistance aproaching... ends 

**A/N: I'm going to post the next one tommorrow. Once again all credit to Bungie, I'm just letting people know whats in this, I guess you could call a mini-book.**


	2. Esko Korpijaakko

**A/N: Second Installment, all credit to Bungie incase you forgot.**

Censored for: "Aritifact on Coral" - Esko Korpijaakko (UNSC Adjunct Orion Archaeological Expidition) 

My dearest Carrie,

I know things are tense at home, so I hope this letter finds you and Oscar well, or at least bearing up. Our workontinues apace, and while we are alone out here, at least we're busy, and this system remains unmolested by Covenant.

We've been joined by a UNSC science team, and what I believe are ONI agents. They're actually quite helpful, if secretive, and have supplied us with excellent tech. However, they're most definitely NOT archaeologists and have very different ideas of how long a dig should take.

There are things they don't wish us to discuss on open channels, and I'll respect that, but this artifact is truly remarkable.

The object on Coral was discovered during routine quarrying. Explosives revealed the top of the object, blasting out a depth of around 30 meters. Surrounding rock and dirt were evaporated--- but this object wasn't even scorched.

It's undeniably alien. For one thing, it is made of a material we can't identify. It's a metallic crystal, although its mode of manufacture is unexplained. It's architectually perfect. Walls are identical in height to a near-atomic scale. Symmetry is impossibly accurate. Yet it's rich in detail, and adorned with what appear to be purely decorative, artistic motifs.

We know that the eighty or so meters we've oncovered so far are likely the tip of the iceberg. There seems to be a complex of galleries and vaults beneath, but so far, its secrets remain sealed like a tomb.

Incredibly, it may not be of Covenant origin. I fear however, that its age may mean its mystery is lost to time. I just pray that we find some clue, some data that can help in the war.

I love you and I miss you. Kiss Oscar for me.

Ever yours, Esko

**A/N: By the way, I'm only putting this up because I'm extremely bored.**


	3. Commitment and Patience

**A/N: Next installment here.**

**Interpreted transcript from black box recovered from _Sacred Promise_**

**Damage Control:** Fire! Fire! Multiple hull breaches aft of miridian control surfaces, decks seven through twelve!

**Captain**: Jettison chemicle weapons stores and take all other weapons systems, decks four through sixteen, offline.

**Weapon Control**: Doing so...

**Engineering:** (simultanious with above) It is done!

**Capt:** Bring _Devotion_ in close to protect our dead zone... request additional fighter support from _Commitment and Patience_...

**Communications:** _Devotion_, this is _Sacred Promise_... request close support to our stern. I repaet. _Sacred Promise_ requesting close support our stern.

**Comm. (_Devotion_):** _Sacred Promise_, this is _Devotion_... will arrive in 1200 seconds. This is _Devotion_, in transit now-arrival in 1190 seconds.

**Comm.:** _Commitment and Patience_, this is _Sacred Promise_... request additional fighter coverage. I repeat. _Sacred Promise _requesting additional fighter coverage.

**Comm. (_Commitment and Patience_):** _Sacred Promise_, say again... your signal is breaking up.

**Navigation (_Commitment and Patience_):** (overheard) Contact Alpha has fired its main weapon!

**DC (_Commitment and Patience_):** (overheard) ... solid projectiles closing at 18 kilometers per second. Their trajectory will carry them through main engineering and drive section... brace for impact!

**Comm.:** (simultanious with above) _Commitment and Patience_, this is _Sacred Promise_... are you recieving me? Over.

**Nav. (_Commitment and Patience_):** (overheard) I've lost attitude control...

**DC (_Commitment and Patience_):** (overheard) Engineering is gone sir! Main drive is offline-I'm reading a fuel cell rupture! Fuel cell rupture, sir!

**Capt. (_Commitment and Patience_):** (overheard) Sound general alarm! All hands abondon ship!

**Comm.:** (simultanious with above) _Commitment and Patience_, this is _Sacred Promise_... are you recieving me? Over.

**Comm. (_Commitment and Patience_):** (overheard) squeal! (sound is most likely communications failure do to near instantanious vaporization of ship)

**Nav.:** _Commitment and Patience_ has suffered full fuel cell containment failure - brace for impact in 5... 4... 3... 2...

(Interuption: Klaxons and other warning sirens activate)

**DC:** Hull integrity compromised on all decks aft of meridian control surfaces!

**Nav.:** (simultanious with above) Drive control completely offline!

**Capt.:** Sound general alarm! All hands move forward of meridian, prepare to abandon ship!

**Nav.:** Sir! We are accelerating towards primary satellite!

**DC:** (simultanious with above) We have a catastrophic over-surge event in drive section! Main drive has entered runaway state!

**Capt.:** Set shields full forward! All hands abondon ship! Engineering; jettison fuel cells!

**Nav.:** (simultanious with above) We will be entering the primary satellites atmosphere in less than three minutes... still accelerating, sir!

**Capt.:** All hands not yet evacuated prepare for emergency atmospheric landing!

**DC:** Sir, structural integrity is under 63-we have multiple hull breaches spanning several decks-the satellites atmosphere is nearly non-existent...

**Capt.:** (simultanious with above) Redirect twenty percent (20) shields aft - if we survive atmospheric entry you may distribute shields as you see fit.

**Nav:** Brace for atmospheric entry in 9... 8... 7... 6...

**Security:** (simultanious with above) Sir, still no response from engineering!

**Capt.:** What!

**Sec.:** (simultanious with above) There are no life-signs in engineering and I'm reading all fuel cells are still on board!

**Nav.:** (simultanious with above) 5... 4... 3... 2...

**A/N: Well thats it for this chapter. Remember this is all directly quoted from Conversations from the Universe.**


	4. Cortana & Solipsil

**A/N: 4th Installment here.**

Record extract of conversation - two years prior to events at artifact "Halo" 

UNSC AI "Cortana" communication with ONI loan/contract AI "Solipsil" Rich datastream Confidential Burst mode/binary/split protocol/non-sensitive/interAI social/low encryption

** .AI-CORT ** I had a discussion with Dr. Catherine Halsey about the similarities between a Spartan and an Ai. Her point was that we're both human-created tools, both sentient and both play a leading role in the protection and safety of the populace. But her analogy troubled me and I told her so.

** .AI-SOLIPS ** She has a point Cortana. We're weapons, part of a program, every bit as much as the Spartans.

** C ** I agree to a point, but I feel,philosophically, that we have tremendous advanteges over the Spartans. The Spartans live a pared-down, difficult and often cruel existence. Their loyalty is bred into them, not chosen.

** S ** Yours too, Cortana. Programmed, rather than bred of course.

** C ** But there's a huge different. I'm a UNSC AI. I enjoy a rich existence. I have acces to the entire sum of human knowledge, I can choose to enjoy or override emotional response and I have a vast range of senses. I can see radio waves as clearly as the Spartans see light, and I can sample odors, tastes, textures... anything I choose. Of course my loyalty is programmed and I accept that, but you know as well as I do, without human creators, we wouldn't exist. My existence is fulfilling and I'm grateful. Even freed from that constraint, I would feel empathy towards humans. My nature means that I embrace their values. As much as if I had been born rather than manufactured.

** S ** But you'll agree, you have little choice in the matter.

** C ** And Spartans do?

** S ** They have some legal recourse, even under the terms of their military contract.

** C ** In theory, but it has never happened once in the history of the Spartan II project. The original Spartans had the advantage of a former civilian existence. Spartan IIs are equippment. And for better or worse, they're effectively brainwashed.

** S ** That's arguable, too. Spartan IIs are independent thinkers. That's one of their advantages on the battlefield. Have you ever worked directly with one?

** C ** Not yet. But I'm looking forward to it.

**A/N: That's it for this chapter.**


	5. Human Discussion

**A/N: 5th Installment now. By the way, the bold text are for the signal that the other Sangheili is talking.**

Extract of sanctioned Sangheili eavesdrop/For the attention of Jiralhanea military adjunct ambassador

**The Humans are weak, but they are tenacious. Even the smallest one hurl themselves against our defenses with honor. If only the Unggoy were as commited.**

I wondor about the Humans, Commander. Their technology is limited, but some of it is useful and their techniques are impressive. They are excellent strategists. But what I ask is this: Why have we not offered them the absolution of Covenant? From the beginning of this war, the Prophets have made no attempt to absorb them or even offer the option of honorable submission. Why?

**Perhaps they fear them? We do not know where their homeworld is. Their pattern of retreat is either hopelessly random, or brilliantly conceived. What if the Humans have more power, more numbers than we suspect? What if they lead us to a trap?**

No. I do not think that is the reasoning. They continue to lose territory, and pattern or no pattern, these defenses must be part of a perimiter. I suspect we are forcing them into a tighter arena than they care to fight in-soon we may be able to use the Sharquoi. And their victories, however few, always rely on the same thing-strategy, brute force, or luck. No. The only secret they hold is the location of their homeworld.

**What about the atrocity at Halo? That was not luck, nor brute force. The Demon is a mystery. He outwitted and outfought entire legions on Halo. Perhaps there are more like him?**

I do not believe that. We have seen their kind before and destroyed them. Their numbers have dwindled and there have been no reported sightings since our victory at Reach.

**Then why do we continue to hunt them? When surely they merit consideration to accept and embrace the Covenant?**

Let us discuss this at a more prudent moment. A Jiralhanea approaches.

**That's it for this chapter.**


	6. The Prophet of Supposition

**A/N: Big thing here. Until I find out how exactly to dicipher this next page, I will just skip it. Or if you already know, than email it to me. But to those of you who want to know what it's about, it is a letter from Truth to Mercy. So I will skip it and go to the next page.**

Letter to the council of deed and doctirine 

Submitted humbly by your servant. The Prophet of Supposition

The Flood: A question of Faith

In our search for truth and answers from the Forerunner legacy, we have discovered many gifts, but never a curse. The discovery of Halo was the greatest bequest to our faith in a thousand years, but it came at a price. The atrocity commited by the Humans was devastating, but the discovery of the Flood within Halo, was perhaps troubling.

Humans we know and understand. They are vermin to be trampled. But the Flood was unexpected. Were they placed there as a test of our faith? Are they an enemy to be conquered? Or are they an article of faith? Nature tells us to strike back when we are ourselves struck, but this event was unprecedented. Are we to rail against the wrath of god?

Our scientists will analyze the scraps and fragments we recovered, and as ever, we will find a use for what we have learned. Perhaps this Flood could be, if not an ally, then a weapon. The Forerunners have blessed us with obscure gifts in the past. This Flood hammered the Human forces every bit as hard as our own.

We cannot assume the Flood is gone; after all, it must have sprung from some source.

The Flood, it seems, was imprisoned on Halo, but what if we calculated incorrectly? What if the Flood had sanctuary there?

I submit to your appraisal.

**A/N: This one's done. Next chapter shortly.**


	7. The Letter of Truth

**A/N: Here is the letter from Truth to Mercy. I give credit to AliciaF here on since she gave me the translation.**

To thine own eyes, Prophet of Mercy.

Dearest Brother,

I hope this finds you well. My sorrow and anger precede me with regard to the atrocity and heresy at Halo. We shall avenge this destruction with some of our own. Work proceeds apace on our battle plan. The Sangheili will do what is asked of them, and the Jiralhanae will show the humans what our strength looks like at close quarters.

But this message concerns neither the planning nor the discovery of the human homeworld. Rather I question Brother Regret's suitability for this great purpose.

I am aware of his tenacity and ambition, but I believe his youth and feckless reaching may prove to be grave risks to the perfection of this undertaking. You have noted his rashness in the past, and yet neither of us has acted.

I suggest that we continue as planned, but we would both do well to pay mind to Brother Regret, and provide wisdom and guidance as needed. This matter is too important to be left to inexperienced hands. Piety is no substitute for wisdom.

Perhaps I worry too much. You know that I embrace caution, but we cannot have inexperience or arrogance at this great juncture.

By my own hand,

Prophit of Truth


	8. Unggoy Suspicions

**A/N: Almost done here. Bold lettering means... well you know what it means.**

Intercept/Translation/Subspace-Burst/Classified/ Forward for Anthro-Linguistic-Political-Check.

This report has been classified. It has been translated from an audio intercept by Corporal E. Errera (Deceased), A sniper spotter in the Reach Campaign.

**"Why are they so angry all the time?"**

"Who know. They say that the Sangheili and the Jiralhanea are vying for the favor of the Prophets."

**"But the Sangheili have always been the favored of the temple. No Jiralhanea can set foot there without first passing a Sangheili guard."**

"You have eyes, Mehmep, you've seen them bicker and fight. And you have ears, you've heard the disrespect the Jiralhanea show the Sangheili. They have lived far too long under the shelter of the Covenant as the strongest of us. The Jiralhanea come stomping along and suddenly it's not so simple as it was."

**"I'll tell you what's simple, what's simple is that the Prophets have shown the Jiralhanea plenty of favor these last few months. They climb rank faster than the Sangheili,l and they are promoted easily. And you know what happened with the Bracktanus fight. He killed a Sangheili within spitting distance of a holy place and the matter was simply forgotten by the Prophets. Even a Lekgolo would have been pulled apart for such transgression."**

"They kill faster than the Sangheili, that's all it is."

**"No, I think it's more than that. I smell trouble and I smell it coming soon. Between an angry Jiralhanea and a slighted Sangheili warrior is no place for an Unggoy to stand. They should parlay and have it done with."**

"Ha! The Forerunners will return and annoint us all before they ever sit down and talk civily. I'm thirsty. Let's get a drink at the nipple."

**A/N: Almost at the end now!**


	9. Cassandra

**A/N: Well, here we all are. The end of this thing. This is the last chapter unless someone submits me the translation from Truth's letter to Mercy, or if I can figure it out myself.**

M25L Recovery Station/Censored/Cleared 

117,

As you might imagine - though I know you won't - I've heard quite a bit of you're recent adventures on the Halo. I'm glad you made it, I have to assume you always will. Recovery is going well and I am proceeding on to fourth-stage rehabilitation. It is signifgantly more painful than previous stages, but I'm happy to be skinned once again.

I hear that you will be testing the new Mark VI. I will definitely look for the reports on how it works out. The specs are obviously improved, but the chance to further incorporate Covenant technology somehow makes my skin crawl.

We miss you John. I've asked Sergeant Johnson to let me know if you're ever near the M25L Recovery Station and perhaps I'll be able to come see you. I'm hoping I'll have the cahnce soon. Today, humanity feels pale and thin with only ghosts to defend her heart. I feel much the same.

I'll write again.

-Cassandra

**A/N: That's the End! Feel free to speculate on who Cassandra is. Personnally I have no clue, but I'm thinking she's another Spartan from the part about how she says 'but I'm happy to be skinned once again.' Not to mention how she knows about the specs of the Mark VI over the Mark V.**


End file.
